Crafty Kristi

 Anyone who knows my Mom knows that I come by my love of all things crafty honestly.  I mean, what other girl can claim that she had a fabulous handmade Rainbow Brite costume at three? (Speaking of that, Mom, do we still have it?  I bet Kayla would love it!)  Anyway, the crafting bug has bitten lately and I've been taking on some projects.  Thought that I'd share a few :)

 Candy corn wreath for my front door - love it!

This is the door in the playroom leading out to the garage.  I painted it and then split it in two - one side for each kiddo.  You can see that they've each added a current hand print to their side.  We'll do that every year on their birthday (I painted in the number though you can't see it from here)  Also, it's a height chart.  I measured and marked Noah on his first day of school already.  The plan is to measure each of them on their birthday and the first day of school every year.

This is the piece I made for over the mantle in the newly redone library.  LOVE how it came out!

Papa Wolverine

My parents came up for the day so we could start to get a better idea on how/when some of the upcoming home repairs are to work and then stay and hang out for the game.  After a successful trip to Home Depot to pick out our new flooring for the kitchen (great looking laminate flooring for 71 cents a square foot - score!!!), Mom and I went and got manicures while the guys stayed and installed the dishwasher and watched football (kudos to California, wish your kicker would have gotten his act in gear so you could have actually beaten OSU!).  We made it back shortly after kick-off of the Michigan v. UMass game where the kiddos and Papa were already deeply involved in the game as you can see from the pictures above.  Well it's now lots of good food, wound up kiddos and 63 (yes, 63!) Michigan points later and we all had a fabulous time.  Hey Irish, would love to see you beat MSU tonight, but you're in the line of fire now :)

Breakfast of the Victors!

On a trip to Wal-Mart last night to find a piece to install the new dishwasher (which arrived yesterday along with my new fridge and new dryer!  Consider me one very excited Kristi) Grant found what we've been waiting weeks for - Michigan Wolverine pop-tarts!  The kids are enjoying them as a snack this morning in preparation for the game this afternoon.  Go Blue!!

How to make a happy Mikayla

How to make Mikayla happy - cut up lots of netting and make a Michigan tutu!  Wonder if I'll be able to get it off of her today...

First Day of Pre-K 4

 Well, we made it through the summer!  Today marks Noah's first day back to school to begin his year of Pre-K for 4 year olds.  He'll be going to school Monday, Wednesday and Friday this year and Mrs, Porto will again be his teacher.  He is so excited this morning it is all I can do to keep him from running out the door.  Good thing this Mama is prepared for the feeling of one more heart string being broken.  In reality, though, I am thrilled for him.  He genuinely loves school and learning.  Plus the new Lightning McQueen book bag and awesome stoplight "Ready, Set, Go" shirt that we got school shopping yesterday might have something to do with it.  Alright, we're off!

2012 Gatchel Olympics: BIG update

Due to the recent passing of Kristi's grandfather Howard (or "Big" Pappa as the kids called him) we had to postpone our regularly scheduled games. Once things settled down, we had 6 games to catch up on. So one day we did 3, then 3 the next, and then we were finally caught up.

Due to my laziness and other things, I am finally posting the pictures not only of those six events, but the events from the three following days. Here were the 9 games and the gold medal winners. The medal designations for silver and bronze are not listed as I've pretty much forgotten what they were at this point.

Saturday -
Balloon Race: Mikayla (several balloons were unfortunate casualties)

Egg Obstacle Course: Mommy
Backward Obstacle Course: Mikayla

Sunday -
Pin the Nose on the Smiley Face: Daddy (Noah was caught red-handed cheating, check out the video)
Tic-Tac-Toe: Noah
Drinking Straw Race: Noah

Monday -
Ball Sorting Race: Noah

Tuesday -
Sock Matching Race: Noah

Wednesday -
Grand Prize Game: Noah (nearly impossible, and no $100 bill in the last bucket)


A few choice pics from the games. More in the album.

Toledo Mud Hens + SD Chicken = FUN

This last Sunday the Kosakowskis, Singers, and Gatchels went to Fifth Third Field in Toledo for a great evening of Mud Hens baseball. Here were some of the highlights:

1. Being entertained by The San Diego Chicken
2. Dining on stadium food (at stadium prices)
3. Watching Noah and Mikayla eat cotton candy and popcorn out of helmets
4. Paying more attention to Mikayla's antics than the game

After over 3 hours and the game was just starting the 8th inning, we decided to call it a night. Mikayla, however, didn't think that was such a good idea. As we left our seats she began bawling in the saddest display of a two-year-old that I had ever seen because we weren't going to get to see the fireworks display at the end of the game. It broke all of our hearts, but we were able to talk her down and get us home.

The next morning we found out that leaving when we did was a very good decision. They lost after 19 innings taking a total of 6 hours and 32 minutes. No word on whether kids stayed to run the bases or if the fireworks were ever launched.

Here's some shots from the night. More (plus some video) can be found in the album.